Denali Flightseeing: Landing on the Ruth Glacier - Roaming Together

Posted on June 26, 2026July 13, 2026 by jim

Denali flightseeing was the whole reason we based ourselves in Talkeetna in the first place, and we opted for the Denali Summit Tour with glacier landing from Talkeetna Air Taxi.
Note: This post is heavy on photos and videos, and is super-delayed because it took forever to cull through the hundreds and hundreds of photos.
Denali tops out at 20,310 feet, the tallest peak in North America and one of the most topographically prominent mountains on Earth – it rises nearly 18,000 feet from base to summit, more vertical relief than Everest gets from sea level to peak. Only about 30% of visitors to the area get a clear enough day to even see it, and we lucked out with three sunny days in a row, and a spectacular day for our flight.
Talkeetna Air Taxi’s De Havilland Otters are a bush plane workhorse that’s been hauling climbers and gawkers into the Alaska Range for decades.
The flight threads up the Ruth Glacier and past the Ruth Amphitheater, a natural bowl of ice walled in by granite that dwarfs anything a camera lens can honestly capture. Mount Hunter and Mount Huntington flank the route, the latter a genuinely absurd single blade of rock stabbing straight up out of the ice. Somewhere in there you pass Kahiltna Base Camp, the staging ground for climbers headed up the standard West Buttress route, then the camps themselves – Camp 3 at 14,200 feet and the infamous High Camp at 17,200, where climbers might sit tent-bound for days waiting out -30F temps and 70 mph wind for a summit weather window.
Then you land. Right there on the Ruth Glacier, engine off, nothing but snow, silence, and a mountain that makes you feel like an ant. We took our mandatory ussies, admired the Sheldon Chalet in the distance, and generally stood around in stunned silence – because words feel inadequate in this vastness.
Fifty states down, and this was as good a way as any to punctuate the last one.
If you’re headed to Alaska, do NOT skip this. Check the weather, book early, and go.
This wraps up our Alaska trip, now we’re headed back to California to pick up Polly and go play in the Sierra Nevada mountains for the rest of the summer.
Fifty states. Go. See. Do.

Denali Flightseeing: Talkeetna Airport

Looking down at the Talkneetna airport as we take off and head toward Denali.

Oxygen

Is this a necessary sign inside an airplane? These feed tubes are what supply the oxygen to our facemasks when at altitude.

In The Small Seats – 360 Inside The Plane

They may be small seats, but they certainly aren’t cheap. Aboard one of Talkeetna’s Air Taxi’s Dehavilland DHC-3 Otters headed to do their Denali Summit tour with a landing on the Ruth Glacier. Click and scroll around.

Funny Like A Clown

We didn’t expect to need oxygen masks, but above 12,000 feet they’re a must when headed up to over 20,000 feet.

It’s a Green World

All of the land around Denali is lush green, although quite a bit of it is marshes, swamps, and a bog land called muskeg that would be impossible to travel through. Good for moose, not so good for humans.

Touchdown

Look at this happy couple after touching down on the Ruth Glacier. Mandatory ussie – check.

What A View

Every seat on Talkeetna Air Taxi’s Dehavilland Otter airplanes has a good view, and our pilot did an excellent job of spending an equal amount of time making sure everyone on both sides of the plane had a front row seat.

Another Ussie

It’s too photogenic here on the Ruth Glacier not to have multiple ussie photos!

I Like It Rough

The knife edge on this ridgeline is absolutely stunning.

Denali Flightseeing: Ruth Amphitheater

Looking down into the Ruth Amphitheater with Denali towering above.

Closing In

Gaining altitude to clear the ridgelines as the clouds bank up underneath, moving up the upper Ruth Glacier / lower Kahiltna area, working up toward Denali’s southeast flank.

50 States

Gotta make the 50 in the snow since this is our 50th state to visit together.

Smooth Lines

From this angle and distance the slopes and ridges of Denali’s North Summit look smooth and easy.

View From The Wing

The wing strut on Talkeetna Air Taxis DHC-3 airplanes make great color offsets to the stark white and tan of the rugged peaks and ridges of the Alaska Range.

Mount Hunter

Mount Hunter stands out with a broad, heavily glaciated summit plateau with its characteristic vertical rime/ice flutings dropping down the face.

Like a Knife

The famously sharp and singular summit of Mount Huntington sticks like a knife into the sky.

Pale Blue Dots

Pale blue dots of glacial water look otherworldly when viewed from above.

Two Thumbs Up

Colette sure looks super happy to be out here in the middle of the Ruth Glacier below Mount Denali. Mount Dan Beard on the left is a stark contrast to the flat ice and snow of the glacier.

Awaiting Clearance

A K2 Aviation Otter sits on the Ruth Glacier while preparing to take off. We weren’t the only lucky ones to spend time out here today!

Talkeetna Air Taxi

Our trusty ride sits idle on the Ruth Glacier as we explore and enjoy the warm sun reflecting from the snow.

Sheldon Chalet

You can rent this 5 bedroom 2.5 bath chalet on the Ruth Glacier for roughly $96,000 – $105,000 for a 4-day 3-night stay. You really have to be in a very different tax bracket for a getaway like this to make sense. This shot of the Sheldon Chalet looks exactly like you’re high in the Alps, a whole world away.

So Small

Colette doesn’t even begin to capture the massive scale here as she gazes up at Denali’s East Buttress and Mount Dan Beard from the Ruth Glacier.

Denali Camp 3

Also known as Fourteen Camp due to its location at 14,200 feet, this is the busiest camp on Denali with a complete social scene and many creature comforts. The temps and wind here can be brutal, but nothing like what climbers camped at the High Camp at 17.200 feet experience.

Living On The Edge

A small speck of tents in a massive sea of white at Denali’s High Camp at 17,200 feet. This is the final camp before attempting a summit push.

It’s A Small World

Only a few tents waiting for the perfect weather window at Denali’s High Camp at 17,200 feet. Many climbers have been weather-bound here for days battling -30F temps and 70+ mph winds. This is where things get real.

Rock Lines

Climbers would be swarming these walls if they were within easier reach.

Blue Pockets

Beautiful blue pockets of glacial ice water along the tongue of the Ruth Glacier.

Kahiltna Base Camp

Gorgeous blue crevasse fields and the walled-in basin of Denali’s Base Camp sitting on a broad, relatively flat stretch of the Southeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier, tucked below Mount Frances and Kahiltna Pass with steep walls on both sides.

Headed Down The Highway

Following the curves of the lower Ruth Glacier valley, past where the ice becomes heavily debris-covered near its terminus. Beautiful striped medial moraines, vegetated green hillsides at lower elevation, and Denali receding into the distance.